Russia's gas giant eyes US market

OAO Gazprom is, at the same time, undertaking billions of dollars in investments to bring new fields into operation while its old fields approach the end of their usefulness.

Some of the new fields, including the vast Shtokman field under the Arctic Sea, would put large parts of their production into liquefied natural gas, which could be sent to the United States, Gazprom Export head Alexander Medvedev told reporters.

"We consider the United States, and the North American market in general, one of the most promising in view of the growing demand for natural gas as well as the situation with local production," he said.

He did not specify how much liquefied natural gas the company aimed to sell in North America or in what time period, but said, "We are going to realize this potential not only from Shtokman but from the Yamal Peninsula and Sakhalin-2."

The latter field, already under development off Russia's Pacific Coast, would have the easiest delivery potential to the United States.

Development of Shtokman, an enormous technical challenge because of its remote and icebound location, has not begun, although Gazprom, France's Total SA and Norway's ASA StatoilHydro this year formed a joint infrastructure company for the field. It is not expected to produce gas until at least 2013.

As Gazprom undertakes new pipeline projects such as South Stream to Bulgaria, Serbia and southern Europe, some analysts have questioned whether it will have enough gas to fulfill its contracts.

Medvedev said, however, that the company aims to boost its annual production from about 540 billion cubic meters (702 billion cubic yards) now to 610 billion by 2030.

"It's not a secret that our major fields have entered the declining production phase, but in order to manage the demand we are introducing new fields," he said.